King of Games: King of Shadows
by Eoin
Summary: Maro, Atemu's vizier, returns from the world of monsters to help his pharaoh fight evil.


1

Return from a Different Dimension 

A woman's scream cut the air like a knife through butter. Monsters were everywhere! They climbed buildings, blocked roadways – they were attacking the city!

The air shimmered, and a monster phased into being. He looked human enough. He had dark tanned skin, brass decorations on his arms, wore archaic-looking clothing, and had a large ankh around his neck. He was not as frightening as the other monsters – he looked confused, startled, scared even, like he had feelings, was something real. He looked at the other monsters, then at himself, and grimaced. The outfit was not ideal, but it was better suited to this world and time. He checked his Dueling deck, in a case at his waist. He took out three cards and inspected them, feeling a sense of power. They were the Ra's Shadows, and he was Lord Maro, _Asim_ to the Pharaoh, one-time vizier of all Egypt.

Out of the nearby museum came running a blond boy, close behind him two boys and a girl. They looked at the monsters, shocked, and conferred. Maro caught a few words: "Horror flick…monsters…end of the world…magic…Seto Kaiba…holograms …Let's go!"

They began to run off, but the girl looked back. Her eyes seemed to say, "That's strange – that man wasn't there before."

Maro smiled slightly. So the Pharaoh had gotten some little friends.

The blond boy halted. "Come on, Teá!" he called.

She caught her breath. "Coming!" and she ran after.

Maro watched them leave, and sat on a park bench among the screaming citizens to ponder his next move.

He should wait and learn more about this time and place before he revealed himself to the Pharaoh, but he did not want anything to happen to the Pharaoh that he might have prevented had he been there. And how much did the Pharaoh know? He knew that the Pharaoh's memories would not be fresh, as he had been dormant for 3000 years. Much of what was happening was directly linked to the past, but again, much was different. Even _he_ did not know all he should. So he would find out. And he would find the Pharaoh, in the host body of Yugi Moto.

"Hey!" a boy called.

Maro looked up, startled.

"The city's under attack!"

Maro stared at him.

"Fine, suit yourself! It's not up to me to save your skin!" the boy said, and joined the throng of people fleeing to nowhere.

Maro fingered his ring, and struck off towards Yugi Moto's home.

Yugi Moto and his friends Joey Wheeler, Teá Gardner, and Tristan Taylor were headed to Kaiba Corp. Since the monsters were only holographic projections – or so they thought – Kaiba Corp, the maker of the holographic Duel Disk, must know how and why someone's Duel Disk had broken.

It appeared that they would be delayed. Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood, two duelists they had known and defeated, stood in the middle of the sidewalk with dopey expressions on their faces.

"Whoa! What's up with these guys?" Joey demanded.

Weevil chuckled insanely. "The age of destruction is here."

"Soon, your souls will be offered to the Great Beast," Rex finished.

Teá gasped.

"Our souls? What do you mean?" Yugi asked.

Rex and Weevil seemed unable to function. They simply stood there, drooling and chuckling.

"Uh, guys, this is weird," Teá said.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Tristan said.

"Right," Joey said.

They began to continue, but were stopped when someone called, "Hey, guys!"

They stopped a little ways off from Rex and Weevil, and waited for their friend Duke to catch up.

"Hi Duke," Joey greeted.

"What's up? Other than these monsters?" Tristan inquired.

"I saw this weird guy. I mean really weird. He looked like someone out of _The Mummy_. What's more, he had a Duelmonsters deck!" Duke said.

"Really?" Yugi asked, perturbed.

"Yeah, and I mention it because… well, I know you're into that Egyptian stuff, Yugi…"

"Not another weird thing!" Teá moaned.

"What do you mean?" Duke asked, noticing Rex and Weevil. "Hey, what's up with those guys?"

"I don't know. We're going to Kaiba Corp to see if Seto Kaiba knows anything. See you 'round!" Yugi said.

"Yeah, bye!" Duke said, and they parted, Duke going home, the four continuing on their way to Kaiba Corp to find some answers.

Apparently, others had had the same idea. A crowd of newspeople was gathered outside Kaiba Corp. A flustered suit was trying to deal with them. After answering a few questions, he told them that Kaiba would be holding a press conference later that day and managed to disperse them.

"Doesn't look like we'll get many answers here," Joey said.

"Why don't we all go to the Games Shop and watch for that press conference," Yugi suggested.

"Yeah, good idea," Teá agreed fervently, and they headed to Yugi's house.

'"In the last 24 hours, monsters have been spotted across the globe, including a dragon perched on the Taj Mahal. These monsters appear to be lifelike holograms associated with the popular game Duelmonsters."'

Yami, Teá, Tristan, and Joey were gathered in Yugi's living room above the Games Shop, watching the news for Kaiba's press conference and any plausible explanation for the day's events.

"Now we'll take you live to the Kaiba Corp press conference,"' the newsman said.

"It's about time," Yami muttered.

"Shh – I can't hear," Teá reprimanded.

Kaiba's televised image took life and spoke. '"We've done extensive testing of our holographic simulation systems. Now, I can confirm without question that these sightings are unrelated to Kaiba Corp. Our state-of-the-art technology is working perfectly!"'

Tristan switched off the television. "He's covering up – no one else has that kind of technology," he stated.

"I'm beginning to think that maybe these monsters aren't holograms," Teá said tentatively.

"Yes," Yami said. "I think that the force I felt at the museum somehow triggered the monsters' appearances. That means these monsters," he looked around at the others in the room, "are real. I think that's what Rex and Weevil were referring to when we saw them earlier."

"You mean there are real monsters out there?" Joey exclaimed.

The door between the living room and the stairway down to the Games Shop burst open. "There are," said the man who stepped in, in heavily accented English. He looked like someone out of _The Mummy_. Before any of them had a chance to react, he took several steps forward and knelt before Yami. "My lord, I offer you my services once again," he said.

Yami stood. "Who _are_ you?" he questioned.

The other rose. "My lord, do you not remember me? I had been warned that you had few memories of your past, but to forget me? I am Maro, my lord."

"Maro?"

"I don't like this," Joey intervened, coming to stand next to Yami. Yami put out a hand to silence him.

"Maro, my lord. Lord Maro, vizier of all Egypt, your _Asim_." When Yami failed to respond, Maro pulled a card from his deck case without looking at it and showed it to him. Yami studied it for a moment. His eyes lit up. "Maro!" The two men embraced, old friends reunited unexpectedly.

Joey was on his feet again. "I wouldn't trust him if I were you, Yug," he warned.

"It's all right, Joey," Yami reassured him. "Maro is an old friend."

"Well, any friend of Yugi's is a friend of mine," Teá spoke up.

Maro nodded gratefully.

"Yeah, me too," Tristan said.

Yami turned to Joey. "Joey?"

"Yeah, whatever." Joey sat, his eyes still on Maro.

Yami looked apologetically at Maro, who shrugged.

"Now, why are you here?" Yami asked.

"I was sent by – " he stopped and looked pointedly at the friends, who seemed determined not to be budged. Yami looked helpless. Maro took a step forward, his eyes locked on Yami's. "I have much to tell you, my lord," he murmured. "Of present events…and of your past."

Yami's interest was kindled. "Go on," he urged.

Suddenly, there was a scream from the Games Shop downstairs.

"Grandpa!" Yugi cried, and he ran downstairs, his friends close behind. Maro puzzled for a moment over Yami's quick change to Yugi, and followed Joey, who had paused to look balefully at him.

'Grandpa' Solomon Moto lay on the floor, with the door smashed in and the area a mess.

"How could this have happened?" he moaned.

"Grandpa – what happened?" Yugi asked.

"Your cards – your most powerful cards – they're gone!"

"The Egyptian God cards?" said Yugi, aghast.

"Who did this?" Joey demanded.

"I don't know," Grandpa said.

"I'll find them," Joey pledged, and ran outside.

"Joey, stop – it's too dangerous!" Yugi cried.

Maro exchanged glances with Teá, and bent to help her clean up the Duelmonsters cards scattered across the room.

"Uh, guys, you might want to see this!" Joey called.

The four of them ran outside. Obelisk the Tormentor, Slyfer the Sky Dragon, and the Winged Dragon of Ra had been summoned and could be seen against the sky for miles around.

Yugi gasped.

"Who would want to show off the stolen Egyptian God cards in the middle of the city?" Joey said incredulously.

Yugi looked at Maro. "Do you know?"

"I have a very good idea."

Before Maro could speak further, three motorcycles roared up, headlamps blinding the five gathered in front of the Games Shop.

"Are you chumps looking for the Egyptian God cards?" one of them yelled in an Australian accent.

"We are!" Joey shouted.

"Give me the God cards back – they belong to me!" Yugi cried.

"Sorry. They belong to someone else now. If you want them, then follow us," another growled. They began to speed away, laughing raucously at their daring stunt.

"We have no choice." Yugi said, and began to chase them.

"Yugi," Maro called desperately, and joined in the chase. If anything happened to Yugi, his Pharaoh would be in the thick of it. And neither Yugi nor the Pharaoh knew what they were getting into.

They ran through the streets of Domino City, following the bikers. They didn't have to worry about the monsters, as there were few left, and the bikers chose a path away from them anyway.

"We'll never keep up with them!" Tristan panted.

"Save your breath," Teá said, and having caught up with Yugi, they turned a corner to find the bikers gone.

"Over there!" Joey said. A man stood in the middle of an otherwise abandoned lot.

Yugi shifted to Yami – it was always visible, at least to Maro's eyes.

"Who are you?" Yami asked.

"I am Grimo. I'll get to the point and make this short. I have something you want: the Egyptian God cards, and you have something I want: your soul," the man said.

Teá took a step back into Joey and Tristan's protective masculine shield, somewhat intimidated.

"You should give the God cards back before somebody gets hurt. They don't belong to you," Yami warned.

"In order to get them back, you must defeat me in a duel," Grimo said.

"Fine," Yami said, and prepared his Duel Disk.

"Pharaoh, I wouldn't if I were you," Maro warned.

"Why not," Yami asked.

"He has the-"

"Your soul's mine!" Grimo cut Maro off, not wanting his strategy to be revealed, and the duel began.

"I'll go first. I play Beta the Magnet Warrior in defense mode," Yami said. A hologram of Beta and a number – 1600 – signifying defense points appeared on the field. "I also play a facedown card and end my turn."

"What were you warning him about?" Joey asked Maro, grudgingly acknowledging that Maro could be helpful.

"You'll see," Maro said tightly, and Joey grunted.


End file.
